Friday, February 27, 2015

Microsoft ClipArt is Gone! 02/27/15

Microsoft Clip Art is Gone!  What happened?

http://time.com/3614329/microsoft-clip-art/


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One Note for Teachers Training 02/27/15

Want to learn OneNote?

Try this great, easy-to-use training resource from Microsoft

 http://www.onenoteforteachers.com/

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Marketplace (Learning.com) is Closing Down - 02/27/15

Learning.com's Marketplace Is Going Away on June 30, 2015

In case you hadn't heard....

On June 30, 2015, Learning.com's Marketplace will no longer be available for Learning.com users. If you have been using applications from the Marketplace (both for free and for purchase), be aware of this and plan accordingly.
Read more here.


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Research Tools 02/27/15

Online Research Tools

KidRex - http://www.kidrex.org/
Safe search for kids, by kids!

 Sweet Search - http://www.sweetsearch.com/
This student-friendly search engine searches only the 35,000 websites that the "finding Dulcinea" staff of research experts, librarians, and teachers have evaluated and approved.

Biographies - http://www.sweetsearch.com/biographies
SweetSearch Biographies offers profiles and outstanding search results for thousands of famous-or infamous-people from many walks of life, professions and countries, spanning many centuries.

On This Day - http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news.html?topic=on-this-day

TIME for Kids - Around the World - http://www.timeforkids.com/around-the-world

CIA World Fact Book - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

BBC Country Profiles - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm

America's Story - Explore the States - http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/index.php

States Websites for Kids - http://kids.usa.gov/learn-about-the-states/index.shtml

Biography (A&E) - http://www.biography.com/people

The Portal to Texas History - http://texashistory.unt.edu/

Colonial America and the American Revolution - http://www.thinglink.com/scene/581557747556810753

U.S. Presidents - http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents


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Website of the Week! Celebrating the Alphabet and Vocabulary! 02/27/15

Alphabet Organizer 
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/alphabet_organizer/

Students create an alphabet book or alphabet chart with words for each letter of the alphabet. Or choose just one word per letter and upload an image to help early readers make a visual connection between the word and the beginning letter.

Students can save a draft and continue to add words, definitions, and/or images.
Their final work can be saved and/or emailed to the teacher.

Engage students and build phonemic awareness by using Alphabet Organizer in the classroom. 
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Troubleshooting ActivExpression/Votes - I Can't Register Them? 02/27/15

Troubleshooting the Registration of ActivExpressions or Votes

Trying to register your ActivExpressions or Votes, but the HUB doesn't appear in the Registration window?  Here are some troubleshooting tips that work most of the time:

If, when you go to ActivInspire and Configure, you don’t see the HUB listed on the left side of the window, you can check a few things:
  • Make sure the HUB is in the USB slot on the computer
  • Make sure there is a green light blinking inside of it
  • Close ActivInspire (if it is open)
  • Go to this location:  \\pisdcifs02\pisdshare\Promethean\ActivBoard_Install_Items\ActivInspire\Drivers_and_Updates
  • You can get to this by opening the following folders/drives:
    • U: drive (Public)
    • Software folder
    • Promethean folder
    • ActivDrivers_and_Updates - Shortcut
  • Double-click ActivDriver_x64 v5.10.14 setup.exe
  • Answer all the positive responses (Yes, Install, Next, etc.)
  • Restart the machine when it is done
  • Open ActivInspire
  • From the Dashboard, click Configure
  • Click Register
The HUB should display on the left side of the window

ActiVotes work pretty much the same way.  If, however, after doing the steps listed above you still don't see the HUB, check with Instructional Technology for a few other tips to correct the problem.

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STAAR Test Maker 02/27/15

Question from a campus:
How do we get a STAAR Test Maker update?  Who is the contact person for the district?

Answer from Richard Yoes sent Thu 2/12/2015 2:36pm:
There is no in-district contact.  Johnathon Smith is the sales rep.  All purchases are from the campus level.



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Friday, February 20, 2015

Free App Friday! 02/20/15

Free iPad Apps!  -  Today Only!

Toontastic - (regularly $9.99)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toontastic/id404693282?mt=8

TeleStory - (regularly $4.99)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/telestory/id915378506?mt=8

Charles Dickens Audio Library (read aloud books) - (regularly $7.99)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id667974539?mt=8

Story Starter - Adventures in Writing (new app)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/story-starter-adventures-in/id963860159?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Ed Meets the Dentist (regularly $1.99)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ed-meets-the-dentist/id509861724?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Interactive Books
  • Lenka (regularly $2.99)
  • Rolling Pea (excellent fairy tale for older children; regularly $2.99)
Math
Social Studies
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Istation Update 02/20/15

Istation Updates in 2015

Istation held a webinar on Friday, February 20, 2015, outlining what will be new starting in January, 2015. 

The full webinar is in the following location:
U:\Instructional Materials - Electronic\Istation\Webinar
(can only be accessed from school)

Also in that folder, you will find a Word document that contains some (very ugly, quick) notes from the presentation.

Overview of information:
  • A great deal of content has been added to the Spanish component
  • Math is still in development but should be ready by fall 2015 (see more math info below)
  • Teacher Resources is changing – both the old and new views are running concurrently until June
  • A great many new features will be introduced in the writing areas on MONDAY, including the ability for students to publish and the teachers to use a rubric to “grade”
Istation Webinars
Istation will be hosting 2 free webinars next week specifically for Texas.
These 2 webinars will be the same presentation that is in the PISD Public Drive and contain the same information.
If you’d like to register for one, login to Istation and click Training Center.

Monday, February 23 at 4pm-5pm CST

Tuesday, February 24 at 3pm-4pm CST


Istation Math in 2015-2016:
PISD is piloting the Math version of Istation at a couple of campuses this year.  However, there is no news yet on whether or not PISD can or will purchase this for other campuses next year.  This decision would be based on whether the program is worthwhile, how much it costs, Texas Legislature and decisions made by that organization, etc.  
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Friday, February 13, 2015

Websites of the Week! Celebrating Black History Month! 02-20-15

Black History Resources:

 Important Note - Some of the content and videos won't display under the student login.  Several videos are from VIMEO (only available using a teacher's login).

Interactive Timeline of the History of the Civil Rights Movement
http://embed.verite.co/timeline/?source=0Av8RB1CnByREdDQ4a05Fbjc0RjZ5VHdwT3UxY0pSaVE&font=Bevan-PotanoSans&maptype=toner&lang=en&height=650


I Have A Dream - Visionary Text Lesson Plan (video, activities, etc.)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons_plans/the-50th-anniversary-of-the-march-on-washington-lesson-plan-i-have-a-dream-speech-as-a-visionary-text/


African American World
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/


Black History 101 - Scavenger Hunt
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/images/lesson052-1-download.pdf


Black History 102 - Scavenger Hunt
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/images/lesson052-2-download.pdf


Notable African Americans
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/afroambios.html


The Underground Railroad
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/


Rosa Parks (History Channel)
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks

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Replacement Computers in PISD 02-20-15

Announcement from Michael Rodriguez (Tech Services) regarding replacement computers:
Starting in early 2015....
When any computer is up for a refresh/replacement (generally every 5 years):
  • A computer designated for student use [will be] replaced with a laptop (including libraries).
  • Any computer in the following location [will be] replaced with a desktop computer: 
    • Administrative offices
    • Teacher computer connected to the Promethean Board (where applicable)
    • High-end graphics labs

Source:  
Michael Rodriguez
Paraphrased from an email Sent on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 4:21pm

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Websites of the Week! Celebrate Valentines! 02-13-15

Share these fun Valentine's theme websites with your teachers!

Interactive Educational Games and Puzzles

Counting Hearts (K-1st)
http://media.abcya.com/games/valentines_day_counting/flash/valentines_day_counting.swf 

Valentine's Crossword Puzzle (3rd-4th)
http://media.abcya.com/games/valentines_day_crossword_puzzle/flash/valentines_day_crossword_puzzle.swf

Valentine's Day Puzzle (K-1st)
http://media.abcya.com/games/valentines_day_puzzle/flash/valentines_day_puzzle.swf

Valentine's Day Word Search (1st-4th)
http://media.abcya.com/games/valentines_day_word_search/flash/valentines_day_word_search.swf

Make A Valentine (Starfall)
http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/valentine/play.htm?f


All About the Heart!

Heart Parts (Interactive Human Heart)
http://globalinc.prod.ehc.com/syndicated/content/virtual-body/vbody/heartparts.swf

Animated Heart
http://globalinc.prod.ehc.com/syndicated/content/virtual-body/vbody/animatedheart.swf

Open Heart Surgery!
http://www.abc.net.au/science/lcs/swf/heart.swf

Aortic Aneurysm Surgery
http://edheads.org/activities/aortic/swf/index.swf

Operation Heart Transplant
http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eheart/images/transplant.dcr

Map of the Human Heart
http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/assets/swf/1/map-human-heart/map-human-heart.swf

Operate Now: Open Heart Surgery!
http://www8.agame.com/games/flash/h/heart_surgery/heart_surgery.swf?gp=1
(Don't let the pressure get to you!)

Videos

The History of Valentine's Day
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-valentines-day


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Think Central New Features 02-13-15

New Features Enhance the Think Central Application in 2015:

See a PDF version of the new features in Think Central here:
http://downloads.hmlt.hmco.com/EdSchool/ThinkCentral/ThinkCentral%20Feature%20Release%20Guide%20-%20January%202015.pdf

Student Experience

  • Student Login: The failed login attempt error message has been improved to meet the needs of early– and non–readers. When a student enters incorrect log-in information, a dialog box appears that includes a visual aid as well as age-appropriate text for a more student-friendly experience.

Teacher and Administrator Experience

  • District-Level Test Results Export: District Administrators can now export a district-level test results report. Reports can include a single assessment or multiple assessments, and will include score data for every student who completed the selected assessment(s).
  • Import Options: Two new options for managing class products are available on the ThinkCentral import page, providing improved ease of use when updating classes through the batch import process.

  • Report Export: View by Standards: This new feature allows Teachers and Administrators to export a CSV file of the "View by Standards" tab results as part of an Assessment Report.
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